The Places We Go
by Rising Phoenix3
Summary: Tea leaves Domino City to study dance in London - when she returns to visit her friends four years later, she brings a guest who stirs up some trouble and some hidden feelings.
1. New Destiny

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. Enough said.**

"_So, this is it."_

"_Yes, it is."_

"_I wish you didn't have to sound so certain. I wish this wasn't goodbye. "_

"_We cannot change our destiny, Tea. You must accept this."_

"_But I don't want this!"_

"_Yes, you do." _

"_And who's to call this destiny anyway?!"_

"_It does not matter."_

"_I'll miss you."_

"_But I will be with you."_

"_God, we sound so foolish. I'm only moving away to . . . to London . . . an entirely different city, country, and continent."_

"_You do not have to be afraid of being scared, Tea. Accepting what you feel takes more courage than suppressing an emotion that may be perceived as weak."_

"_But I feel weak . . . how can I be strong at the same time? Is that not a paradox?"_

"_**Last call for Flight 207." **_

"_Dear god, this is it."_

"_Yes, it is, Tea."_

"_I – I . . . goodbye . . . Pharaoh." _

­­­­­­­­­­­­­

"May I get you something to drink, miss?"

"What?" Tea questioned blankly as the neatly dressed flight attendant rolled her tray of drinks to a stop by Tea's seat.

"Would you like a drink?" The flight attendant asked again.

"Oh . . . no . . . nothing for me. Thank you, though."

"If you don't mind my saying, you look so sad – going a long way from home, are you?" The flight attendant smiled kindly at Tea, taking sympathy on the girl's dejected behavior.

"Am I that obvious?"

"Well, you've been staring out that window completely motionless for the last hour. Now, I know that some people love seeing the sky from this perspective, but it doesn't look like you're captivated with the view, which isn't much considering how the sky is as dark as black velvet."

Tea paused a moment, as if she were at a loss for something to say. Quickly the flight attendant held out her hand and said, "My name's Ivy. What's yours?"

"Tea. Tea Gardner."

"Well, Tea, it's a pleasure to meet you. I should continue making my rounds, but if you need anything at all, please, let me know. Okay?"

"All right. Thanks a lot, Ivy."

"No problem."

As Ivy continued to push her cart of trays down the aisle, Tea sighed despondently and glanced around the plane; the seats around her were, for the most part, vacant.

_Just like me . . . empty._

Returning her gaze to the window, she saw the faint reflection of herself in the glass against the pitch black sky. She looked pale, almost ghostly, as if she were only a portion of her real self, which she found bitterly amusing.

_This is it. Domino City is really behind me. London really is in front of me. How did I get here? Why am I here? I shouldn't be here. I should be back there, with them. Honestly, I should just get up and tell the pilot to land this plane because I should not be onboard. Hah! I could just see it now – me, walking up to the front of the plane, knocking at the pilot's cabin door and then politely sticking my head in and asking him to land the plane. Wouldn't that be a kick?_

With these thoughts, Tea's shoulders began to shake as images of her friends, her family, school, her home came flooding back to her. Burying her face against her hands, her elbows fell against her knees and she felt the wave of tears struggling to overtake her.

_Damn the day I got that scholarship! Damn the day that mom and Mrs. Tretbar ever heard of that dance school! If she hadn't heard of it, I never would have tried out to get in and I wouldn't be on this plane right now!_

Tea slowly felt herself being pulled back to that day.

"_It'd be wonderful for you, dear. Don't you agree? It's a very prestigious school – one of the finest in the world. You've always wanted to become a famous ballet dancer, and if you could get a scholarship, which they offer to talented young ladies such as yourself, then so many more doors would open up to you."_

"_Ah come on, mom, I know that this is all part of your master plan to get me out of the house as soon as possible."_

"_That's a silly thought, Tea darling. Now stop kidding around and be serious!"_

"_I don't know. I just don't think I'm 'Livingston Academy of Dance and Fine Art Studies' material, you know?"_

"_Oh that is nonsense, Tea! You are incredibly gifted! Why don't you believe it? If you don't believe me, won't you at least believe your dance teacher, Mrs. Tretbar?"_

"_Well . . . it wouldn't hurt to try out, right? And it would be an incredible opportunity. And both you and Mrs. Tretbar want me to . . . and I want to. I really do. It would be my dreams come true. Livingston! Could you imagine?"_

With the sound of a man snoring quite nasally, Tea returned to the present moment. Glancing at her watch, she groaned as she realized she still had another hour and a half until she would arrive in London. Sinking back down into her seat, she felt herself again fall back to her memories.

"_Open the thing, already!" Joey exclaimed in frustration. "We wanna know what's gonna happen to ya. We wanna know if we're gonna get to throw ya a party or not. So what are ya waiting for? Open it!"_

"_Easy there, Joey. Let her take her time. This is going to change her life, so the least you could do is not rush her!" Tristan said, poking Joey in the ribs._

"_Stop it, you guys! You're making me nervous." Tea said, shifting her feet as she turned the package over and over in her hands, while mentally reading the return address: Livingston Academy of Dance and Fine Art Studies._

"_Don't worry, Tea – we're here for you." Yugi smiled encouragingly and flashed the thumbs-up sign._

"_Well, guys, here goes nothing . . ." Tea slowly opened up the package and pulled out the letter. In shock she began to read it aloud: _

_Dear Ms. Tea Gardner:_

_We at Livingston Academy of Dance and Fine Art Studies are immensely pleased to notify you of your acceptance to our school. We feel that you will contribute greatly to the world of dance, and thus, we could not be more pleased to offer you a full scholarship for tuition, board, and all other necessities for the duration of your stay at Livingston . . ._

"_Wow, Tea! That's great news!" Yugi grinned broadly. "I knew you could do it!"_

"_Yeah, way to go, Tea!" Joey added. "Ya really showed those hotshots your stuff, eh?" _

"_This calls for celebration!" Tristan laughed. "Who's on for pizza?"_

"Passengers, this is your pilot speaking. The plane will be landing shortly, therefore, please remain in your seats and fasten your seatbelts. Thank you."

Tea felt her mouth fall open slightly; she was almost there.

"_I guess this is goodbye, Tea."_

"_Yeah, I guess so, Tristan." _

"_So . . . I'm going to miss you. You better stay in touch, okay?"_

"_I wouldn't dream otherwise!"_

"_Haha . . . good. Um, man this is kind of awkward."_

"_Just a little bit, Tristan. Just a little bit."_

"_I'm sorry I can't be there to see you off tomorrow, but you know, I've got to help my dad move and -"_

"_Don't worry; I know."_

"_Right. So, um . . . hug?"_

"_Of course!"_

"_Hey, hey, ya guys! Don't be getting all emotional on me. She's just going away for . . . for a couple years." Joey brushed his eyes quickly._

"_Aww . . . is tough Joey going to miss me? Are those actually tears?" Tea teased._

"_Naw, ya know. I've just got, er, something in my eye." _

"_Don't lie, Joey." Tristan said, patting him on the back. "We're all going to miss her."_

"_Yeah . . . it's just going to be different without ya around, Tea, ya know, watching out for us."_

"_Yeah, making sure he doesn't get himself killed by doing something stupid!" Tristan added jokingly._

"_Hey!" Joey replied with an offended tone._

"_Just telling it like it is, man."_

"_I'm really going to miss this, guys." Tea felt her eyes start to water up. "Arrrrg!!! I said I wouldn't cry!" She felt her heart wrench and, with a wave of frustration overtaking her, she wiped furiously at her eyes. _

"_Don't worry, Tea. Like I said that day – whatever happens is for the best." Joey said supportively._

"_He's right, Tea. We're all here for you!" Yugi finally piped up. "We'll miss you, but, you know, we'll still see you on vacations. And we'll write letters! And talk on the phone! It'll be almost the same!!"_

"_Yeah . . . almost." Seeing that the guys were struggling to cheer her up, Tea suppressed her sadness and chirped, "London will be tons of fun. You guys will have to visit me there, okay?"_

Noticing Ivy walking down the aisle, Tea quickly called out to her.

"What can I do for you, Tea?"

"Nothing much – it's just that I was wondering how much more time until the plane lands."

"Well, it's about 1:37 a.m. right now if you go by London time . . . so I think it will be about ten more minutes, give or take a couple."

"Ten more minutes . . . that's absolutely incredible." Tea shook her head in a daze.

"Is there anything else that you need?"

"No thanks, Ivy. I'm as fine as can be, given the situation."

Patting Tea's shoulder, Ivy gave her a benign smile and then moved on to check on the other passengers.

_Ten more minutes and then I'm in London. There's no going back now, I guess._

Tea leaned her head back against the seat and thought back to just a few hours earlier when she had said goodbye to Yami. She still didn't quite understand the whole situation concerning Yami and Yugi, the whole spirit connection and ancient Egyptian past, but nevertheless, she loved both of them dearly. She had said goodbye to Yugi the same time she had said goodbye to Joey and Tristan, but she had said goodbye to Yami separately. It was Yami who had taken her to the airport. It was Yami who she had last spoken to in Domino City.

She loved all of her friends equally, but her connection to Yami was different. Somehow it was fitting for him alone to see her off. She couldn't explain it; she could just feel it so strongly that it was almost tangible.

"_So I guess it's just me and you now." _

"_Yes."_

"_It's too bad Joey and Tristan couldn't be here."_

"_Or Yugi."_

"_Right. I always forget the whole spirit body sharing thing you two have going on." Tea said with a slight catch to her voice. "But Yugi could be here, if he wanted to be."_

"_But he has said goodbye to you. And now it is my turn. I shall miss you, Tea."_

"_And I'll miss you, Yami."_

"_I know."_

"_So, this is it."_

"_Yes, it is."_

"_I wish you didn't have to sound so certain. I wish this wasn't goodbye. "_

"_We cannot change our destiny, Tea. You must accept this."_

"_But I don't want this!"_

"_Yes, you do." _

"_And who's to call this destiny anyway?!"_

"_It does not matter."_

"_I'll miss you."_

"_But I will be with you."_

"_God, we sound so foolish. I'm only moving away to . . . to London an entirely different city, country, and continent."_

"_You do not have to be afraid of being scared, Tea. Accepting what you feel takes more courage than suppressing an emotion that may be perceived as weak."_

"_But I feel weak . . . how can I be strong at the same time? Is that not a paradox?"_

"_**Last call for Flight 207." **_

"_Dear god, this is it."_

"_Yes, it is, Tea."_

"_I – I . . . goodbye . . . Pharaoh."_

"-and thank you for flying with Worldwide Airlines."

Startled out of her reverie, Tea stood up and straightened her skirt and jacket. Picking up her carry-on bag, she moved into the aisle and began walking toward the exit. Stopping suddenly she glanced behind her, as if Joey, Tristan, Yugi, and Yami were behind her. Instead all she saw was the seat she had occupied, which now was quietly empty.

Narrowing her eyes slightly and tossing her hair, Tea put up an air of importance.

_I'm sixteen and in London. I should be happy. I will be happy. _

Even as Tea walked off the plane with her head held high, inside she felt herself on the verge of breaking. Mentally she saw everyone, mentally her shield collapsed and mentally she was sobbing.

Physically though, she was the epitome of confidence and grace.

"May I help you with your bags, miss?" An airport attendant with a British accent had approached her and was holding out his hand in offering.

_Goodbye, Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Yami. Goodbye. I'm sorry, but you all are the past now. I have to do this now. This is my time. This hurts so much, but I have to say goodbye. I have to let go . . . this is a new life. New chances to take. New doors to open. New destinies to find . . ._

"Yes, that would be wonderful. Thank you very much, sir." Tea smiled winsomely and held out her bags.


	2. It Isn't Always Candy and Sunshine

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. Enough said**.

**Thanks you to all my reviewers – I didn't think anyone would really be interested in this story, but I guess I was wrong, which makes me very happy. And just a little clarification, I know that Tea's dream is to study dance in New York City, but at the time I was writing, London sounded a little more appealing : )**

"No, no, no!" Camille Dupree, one of Livingston's most qualified dance instructors, spoke angrily. "It is all wrong. Every. Single. Last. Bit. This is not dancing! Where is the rhythm? Tell me; is this class utterly incapable of following the music? How do you all expect to make something of yourself when you are careless, messy, and altogether lazy? Why do you all even call yourselves dancers? I certainly cannot see the talent! Livingston is supposed to be prestigious and yet you all were admitted. Bah! Hear me! You must worker _harder_. You must push yourself to your limits – and then _push yourself further_. Set new limits. Or fail. That's the way it works in the world of dance."

As Camille emphatically gave her speech, the student dancers in the room tittered uncomfortably. Up until this day they had believed that they were extremely talented and now suddenly they were being told just how amateur they were. The thing that bothered the students immensely was that this was the first dance class they ever had at Livingston; they were completely new to the expectations of the school, and yet that seemed irrelevant. It was as if they were supposed to be completely adjusted already, but that was far from the case.

"You there -" Camille pointed with a slender finger as she arched her perfectly shaped right eyebrow, "girl in the front with the short brown hair."

Tea looked around to see who else she could be pointing at, but she realized that Ms. Dupree was in fact pointing at her. "Um . . . me?" She squeaked out tensely; of all the things in the world that Tea couldn't stand, right at the top of the list was being singled out in a room full of her peers – especially being singled out when she was the focus of someone's anger or annoyance.

"No not you. No, you see, I was talking about the girl with the _blonde_ hair on your right or perhaps the _redhead_ on your left." she said as Tea stood twitching her fingers, her face burning with embarrassment at Camille's biting sarcasm. "Now that we have that little misunderstanding cleared up, tell me, Ms.?"

"Tea Gardner." Tea interjected.

"Good. Tell me, Ms. Gardner, why are you at Livingston? Why do you deserve to be here when you obviously cannot dance?"

"I-I . . . I'm here because . . . because I love to dance."

"Oh _very_ smooth, Ms. Gardner." Camille said with a venomous laugh. "You have just succeeded in giving me the most banal, asinine and cliché answer there is to my question. Of course, I know that you love to dance, otherwise you'd just be a fool to be here at a school for _dance._"

"I'm sorry . . . it's just that . . ."

"Excuses, excuses, Ms. Gardner – I won't tolerate them."

"Of course, Ms. Dupree," Tea said quietly as tears of frustration started to form in her eyes, causing her throat to close up and her voice to become hoarse.

Hearing Tea's voice, Camille turned back around to face her. "No tears are allowed, Ms. Gardner. You will feel worse pain than my comments to you; I can guarantee this. You may dance some night on stage and you will be in pain. Your feet may bleed into your shoes, but you will not stop. You will dance through the pain, unless you decide now to go back to your home and give up this dream of yours. Is that what you want?"

"No." Tea said, closing her eyes and pressing her lips together in an attempt to grasp some form of strength.

"All right then; let me give you a piece of advice. If you want to make it in this world where competition will creep into every aspect of your life, then you better toughen up. If you cry at my comments, you will crumble when you face auditions where the judge will rip you to shreds. They will criticize you and they will make you feel worthless, but you cannot cry because if you do, you will never succeed. You will wallow in self-pity and self-pity leads to inaction. And you know that inaction is failure. So, there will be no more tears ever again. Understood?"

"Right. No tears. I understand." Gritting her teeth, Tea squared her jaw and lifted her head. Tears were for the weak. She did not give up her life in Domino City to be told she would fail; she came to London to make something of herself and she'd be damned if she came all this way for nothing.

"Good." Camille brusquely turned away and faced the rest of the class again. Clapping her hands twice she called, "Now. Let's dance this time."

Watching her students, Camille took great notice of their form and ability. She herself was a world renowned dancer of both ballet and modern dance, and over the years she had developed the skill for determining who had what it took to be a dancer – who had the drive and characteristics necessary to be successful in the world. Scanning the room, she mentally smiled at a svelte girl with black hair and an equally trim blonde who were dancing to the music better than the other girls, with the exception of Tea.

Tea was something completely different. From the moment she'd walked into the class Camille had known that she could be better than great. Tea could be 'it', which was why she had chosen to pick on the girl in class. She could see that the girl had the ability, but she just needed to toughen up. Ms. Gardner, in Camille's mind, needed to lose some of her innocence and become more sophisticated and secular. She needed to get a look about her that had edge and then, she just may become something; she just may take the dance world by storm and intoxicate and intrigue them all. But frankly, the only way Camille knew how to give Tea this look was by toughening her up was with harsh comments and then by instilling a few drops of self-doubt into her that would force her to work harder and be better.

Tipping her head slightly and narrowing her eyes Camille suddenly called out, "You there. Redhead. Second row. Stand by the wall. Brunette. Third row. By the wall as well." And thus in this way, Camille forced the less talented students to watch the more talented until only the three girls who had captured her attention remained: Tea, the raven-haired girl, Liya, and the blonde, Collette.

Tea furrowed her brow as she concentrated on the dance steps she'd been forced to learn only an hour and a half earlier. And while Tea usually could pick up choreography fairly easily, today her mind was overwhelmed . . . with Livingston, homesickness, and after Camille's comments, self doubt. Slowly, Tea's mind slipped away from thinking about the dance and to thoughts about Domino City. She began to remember last Christmas when she'd invited Joey, Tristan, and Yugi to her house for a holiday get together, complete with great food, great movies, and great music. But most of all, Tea remembered how at one point during that evening, she'd slipped to her bedroom to get the presents for her friends out of her closet. She remembered how when she'd gotten up off the floor with the wrapped boxes in tow, she'd turned around to find _Yami_ (who she had yet, at the time, to become comfortable around), not Yugi, standing in the doorway, looking at her quietly and contemplatively.

"_Yami . . . hi."_

"_Tea." Yami said affably with a brief nod of the head._

"_So . . . what are you doing here?"_

"_Joey and Tristan thought that you might need a hand getting their presents -"_

"_But they were too lazy to get them themselves, right?" Tea asked laughingly._

"_No – they seemed rather immersed in something on the television."_

"_Oh. Um –"_

"_Here, allow me to help you." Yami gestured with his hands for her to give him the boxes. _

"_Oh – right. Thanks." Handing him a couple of the presents, Tea's hand brushed Yami's for a split second. Automatically she lifted her gaze to his and her eyes widened as she saw him steadily looking at her while showing no signs of discomfort. Jerking her eyes away, she looked out her bedroom window and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw an escape from this awkward moment. "Look Yami – the first snow of this winter - and on Christmas, at that. Isn't it beautiful?"_

"_It is." Yami said simply as he leaned closer to Tea to get a better look out the window._

"_Hey ya guys – where's my present? I've been waiting forever!" Joey called from the living room._

"_If you're in such a rush to get your present, why don't you get off your lazy ass and get it yourself?" Tristan muttered in an irritated tone._

"_Ahhhhh, just shut it, Tristan." Joey threw back._

"_We'd better get out there before they kill each other," Tea said, laughing nervously. _

"_I suppose you are correct," Yami said as he motioned for Tea to leave the room before him. As she walked to the door, she felt Yami's hand lightly rest on her lower back as he guided her courteously from the room. Shivering slightly she-_

Jerking away from her too pleasant memory of Yami, Tea focused again on her dancing, but when she lifted her eyes, she was met with the gaze of Ms. Dupree who was watching her with steely narrowed eyes. The intense look shook Tea immensely and in a panic, she realized that she had forgotten the last part of the dance. Horrified, Tea's steps became less sure and she began to shake uncontrollably. With her mind in distress, she stumbled and felt her ankle turn, causing a wave of pain to shoot up her leg and making her face contort in a grimace of pain.

Gripping her leg, Tea listened in shame as she heard Camille say curtly, "Gardner. Wall. Now."

­­­­­­­­­­"Do you think she's happy?" Yugi asked one night.

"In time, I suppose she will be." Yami replied meditatively.

"What do you mean by 'in time'?"

"Yugi, you must understand that Tea is far from home. It will take time for her to adjust."

"I guess you're right . . . but I still don't understand why she hasn't called anyone more than twice in the two weeks that she's been gone. Do you think she's already forgotten us?"

Shaking his head slightly, Yami simply said, "Do not worry yourself too much; I am certain that Tea has not forgotten anyone." Internally however, Yami questioned the truth in his response. He, like Yugi, could not help but wonder why Tea had not kept in touch better, especially when she so emphatically had declared she would. Try as he might, Yami simply could not brush her broken contact off as a result of being busy. Something was wrong.

"What's wrong now?" Mai sighed as she felt her aggravation flare up.

"What makes ya think something's wrong?" Joey countered, his tone dejected.

"Fine then. You want to be a child. I get it," she said in exasperation.

"Right – glad to hear that you're finally letting up on me. Let's just play the game, okay?"

"Mmhmm," Mai agreed shortly.

Looking down at her Duel Monsters deck of cards, her eyes narrowed as she pondered the next move to make in her game against Joey. Smiling broadly, her eyes lit up and she declared, "Get ready to lose, Wheeler." With those words she played a Harpie Lady card and then revealed her face down card, which allowed her to play two other Harpies. Before Joey could find a way to counteract, Mai had already depleted him of his life points and he'd lost.

"Well, who's the loser now? It's not me, that's for sure!" Mai laughed, but the musical sound faded as she watched Joey get up from the table and move to the window in the kitchen, his form hunched over and tired looking. Laying her cards aside, Mai stood up and went to stand next to him. "Okay, Wheeler – spill."

"I'm not in the mood for this now, Mai."

"Look, Joey, I'm fed up with your attitude. You stand around moping and acting sorry for yourself and it is pathetic! Get a grip!"

"You just don't get it Mai. To you everything is so simple. Win. Lose. Black. White. Do you even know what it's like to feel? You're so obsessed with yourself and what's good for you that you just can't see what's going on. People can't work the way you want them too every moment of their life! You got it?"

Mai's mouth fell open slightly as Joey's words entered her ears. She couldn't help but feel slapped in the face; here she was trying to help him buck up and he was telling her that she was obsessed with herself. How dare he . . .

Mai felt her hurt give way to anger. No one spoke to her that way – no matter what the situation. Narrowing her eyes, she retaliated, "You've got some nerve, Joey; I'll give you that. But you know what? How dare you go off on me. I'm trying to help you out here. I'm trying to give you a chance to quit being so tough so that you can tell someone what the hell has been up with you for the past three months. But you know how you repay me? You tell me that I'm up on some high-horse and am unsympathetic to you! So you know what? I'm done, Wheeler. I tried, and now I'm done trying. I'm leaving. And maybe when I'm gone, you'll get off of _your _high-horse and stop blaming your problems on every other person but yourself."

"Mai, wait-" Joey started, but it was too late. Mai had already walked out of the house, slamming the door tersely as she left.

Rubbing his hair, Joey shrugged off her departure and turned to go to the living room to watch some T.V. On his way out of the kitchen, he stopped short when he saw Serenity leaning against the doorframe, her brows furrowed in concern.

"Joey, you really should go apologize to Mai," she said quietly.

"Why should I apologize to her? She's the one who went off on _me_. If anything, she should come over here to apologize," Joey said, working himself into a frenzied state. "She's the one who was rude. She's the one who needs to get a grip . . . she had some nerve telling me that I was on a high-horse, telling me that I needed to get a grip. She pretty much called me selfish. Hmph."

"Joey?"

"What is it now, Serenity?"

"This is about Tea . . . isn't it?"

Lifting his gaze to hers, he simply retorted, "Do you even need to ask?"


	3. It'll Work Out One of These Days

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. Enough said**.

**Once again, I thank my reviewers and I'm hoping that I won't disappoint anyone : )**

**(a/n: In the last chapter, some of my formatting got messed up, so the chapter pretty much looked like one long scene when there was supposed to be three – first Tea's dance class, then a short snippet of a conversation between Yami and Yugi, and then finally Joey and Mai's appearance. So, I'm sorry if that caused any confusion.) Now onto the story:**

"So where are you spending Christmas, Tea?" Collette, her roommate at Livingston, asked as she leaned over her bed to grab a sweater that was slipping haphazardly off the mountain of clothing that sat next to an open suitcase.

"Oh you know, I'm just –"

"Stupid suitcase!" Collette interjected angrily. "Honestly, how am I supposed to pack everything I need to bring home over break in this little thing?" she muttered as she tried unsuccessfully to cram two sweaters and three pairs of jeans into an already overly stuffed trunk.

"Umm – maybe you should leave some stuff here?" Tea offered helpfully.

Laughing, Collette raised her brows amusedly, clearly showing that that was not an option. At the same time, as her eyes had lit up merrily, she flashed Tea an apologetic smile, "But I'm sorry; I cut you off right before you could answer my question. Bad, bad me! Really, please continue. You're going to-" she prodded.

"Well, I'm just going back to Domino City . . ."

"China, right?"

"Not quite," Tea replied, smiling slightly – most people she'd met here at Livingston had difficulty distinguishing amongst the Asian countries, but it had ceased to bother her a long time ago.

"Oh, right! Japan!"

"Mmhmm."

"You don't sound so thrilled." Collette noted lightly. "Now don't be offended, but even I, who has a family more dysfunctional than I care to describe, am over the top happy with the prospect of getting back home, so why shouldn't you be? From what you've told me about your life back in Domino, well, it sounds damn good. It certainly outshines mine."

"I don't know, Collette," Tea sighed as she flopped onto her bed, her eyes trained on the ceiling. "It's just that I feel guilty and I'm . . . well, I'm kind of afraid to go back and face everyone. The sad thing is that I'm not even sure if they want to see me."

Concerned, Collette put down the clothes she was folding and sat down on her bed, her face propped up on her palms. Soothingly, she began, "Now, what good reason would they have for not wanting to see you? Just what do you feel so guilty about that you're afraid to face your friends, who, from the looks of all those pictures you have displayed on your nightstand and bureau, love you?"

Rolling over so that her back faced Collette and so that she faced the window, where outside the rain that had begun to steadily pour down, drenching the city in a torrent of grey skies, Tea murmured regretfully, "Things change, especially when you go away."

Her mouth parted slightly in a display of sympathy and pity, Collette slowly resumed her packing. After a prolonged silence she filled her voice with a surfeit of cheeriness and said, "Back in Kansas, where I live-."

"That's in the U.S., right?" Tea asked attempting to show interest in what Collette was saying, but instead her voice came off dull and lifeless.

Hearing the forlorn voice, Collette was dismayed, but she plowed on, determined to lighten her friend's mood, "Yep. I tell you what though, your geography sure is better than mine. But anyhow, back in Kansas, when it rains half the time the sun is still out so there's this beautiful light shining through the downpour. When I was a kid I used to love walking home from school in it . . . but do you know what is even better than the rain? The snow! Oh, during the winter when it'd snow, I'd sit in front of the fireplace and drink hot chocolate and sit wrapped in an afghan and it was just magical –"

Tea sighed internally; Collette was a truly great person, but at the moment, all Tea wanted was for her to just let up and leave her be. She knew that Collette was trying to help take her mind off her sadness by filling the room with chipper talk, but really, it wasn't working. Still, Tea didn't want to injure her feelings, so she kept quiet and allowed her roommate's talk to fade into a lulling sound where she heard what was being said but at the same time, the words didn't register in her mind. They simply flowed in and out, as predictable as a tide rising and falling in the ocean, while growing more and more indistinct and distant as Collette continued to speak.

It was almost as if Tea were drowning, like the time she had slipped into the deep depths of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of a small Japanese fishing town when she was six. At the present moment, on one level, Tea felt a heightened sense of awareness. She could smell the musky scent of the London rain, so oppressive and thick, and for the first time in a long time, she could feel the tingling in her fingers and she could sense her legs' presence. For a moment, she escaped the monotony that had begun to characterize her time; she wasn't just moving through life ignorant of and unaffected by the sensations of living. An odd euphoria began to seep through her body and it enveloped her in a warm blanket, similar to the feeling she had experienced when she'd drunk three cups of burning hot black coffee for the first time when she was eleven. It had made her heart feel as if were going to disintegrate and she'd felt numbed and suffocated at the same time – a most drugging effect. But on another level, she currently felt confused, as if she had no idea where she was – as if she really was not in her room at Livingston, but on some other plane of existence. Everything felt so foreign . . .

"Mmmmm," Tea murmured in her sleep as she rolled over in her bed, shifting in an attempt to get warm. Her fingers reached instinctively to tug her blanket over her shoulders, but instead, they grasped air. Her brow furrowing, she turned her face into her pillow, in an attempt to avoid fully waking, as she felt sleep begin to slip away and recede into the night. Her efforts were futile though as her eyes began to adjust to the darkened room.

Pushing herself into an upright position, Tea glanced over at her alarm clock only to see the glowing red numbers display the time 1:57AM. Sighing deeply, she stood up and resigned herself to yet another day begun in the early hours of the morning; it wasn't as if this was an all new experience to her; for the last month getting up at 2 a.m. was normal. She attributed this sleep pattern to her growing discomfort over her situation with her friends. She wanted to work it out, but she was afraid that anything she may try would further tear them apart. And so, the easiest thing she could do was shove the negativity aside and pretend life was perfect. Denial, an intrinsic characteristic of humans, was a wonderful thing, Tea believed, or at least she did when she was in one of her more cynical moods, which were growing more and more frequent as the time she spent at Livingston, and in Ms. Camille Dupree's company, increased.

Tiptoeing across the room, so as not to wake Collette, Tea was surprised when she glanced over at the other girl's bed only to find her not in it. Noticing a small envelope, illuminated by the moonlight, lying against the pillow, Tea picked it up and upon seeing that it was addressed to her, pulled out the single sheet of paper that was in it and preceded to the read the note.

_Hey Tea – _

_Well, I'm leaving to catch my plane back home. You were sleeping so peacefully that I didn't want to wake you just to say goodbye, so that's why I'm writing you this note, you know, to say goodbye and that I hope you have a great winter break. Hmm, well, I guess I'll see you in a couple weeks, then. You'll miss me, right? Of course you will! But have no fear; I'll be having a blast in good old Kansas. Cross your fingers that it'll be snowing there because I definitely need it! So, hugs, kisses – the works. I love you very much, roomie – and I'll miss you!_

_Collette_

_PS_

_Everything will be fine when you get home. You've got to believe that, okay, hon? It's all about the faith, girl. _

Half-smiling, Tea tucked the note back into the envelope and thought to herself "Too bad you can't buy a can of faith at the grocery store, Collette."

* * *

"No. Huh uh. No way. I'm not gonna do it."

"But Joey –"

"No way, Yugi. Don't you remember what happened during fall break last month? What makes you think that I'm going to deal with that again?"

"B-but, it could be different. We didn't give her a chance to defend herself. I mean, I'm sure she has a perfectly good explanation -"

"Yugi – come off of it! She doesn't care anymore. The sooner you let it go the better it'll be for all of us."

"I can't believe that. She's our friend!"

"Tell me then, if she's our friend – wouldn't she have called more 'n twice in four months?"

"She's been busy . . . that's all."

"Naw, that's not it – that fancy shmancy school of hers has gone to her head. Noooo . . . Domino City isn't good enough for her anymore. No, no. London is much more suited to her "sophisticated" tastes."

"Please Joey – give her the chance. Please." Seeing Joey's hesitation, Yugi pressed even further, "Her mother invited us to help put up Christmas decorations like she does every year. It'd be rude not to go."

Joey stamped his foot in annoyance, "Aw, fine. I'll go. Ya happy? I'll go."

"And you'll give her a chance?" After a long pause, Yugi asked again, "Joey – you'll give her a chance, right?"

"Right," Joey said with an obvious effort.

"Promise?"

"Humph . . . okay, okay. I promise."

"It won't be like fall break, you'll see. I promise!" Yugi declared enthusiastically.

"I hope not, Yugi. For your sake, I hope not. Me? I could really care less."

"Joey –" Yugi called as Joey moved past him with an air of indifference and started to walk away. "Joey, wait! Come back!" But despite Yugi's pleas, Joey didn't return.

Sighing sadly, Yugi kicked a loose pebble along the sidewalk until it rolled and disappeared off the path into the park's grassy lawn.

"Yami – you don't think Joey's right, do you?" Waiting in apprehension, Yugi shifted nervously when Yami did not answer and instead kept his eyes averted. "Yami . . . do you?"

"Don't give up hope," Yami said while keeping his voice painstakingly flat and barren of emotion.

"Huhhh!" Yugi exclaimed, visibly taken aback at Yami's unexpected response.

* * *

Wrapping her thin jacket more tightly around her body, Tea tried to stay warm as she walked down a deserted path in a beautifully landscaped park. Surrounded by the dark silhouettes of trees and the stately stone benches that were located beneath them, she couldn't help but feel her worry at her forthcoming return home ease up.

Smiling to herself, she pointed her toes as she walked and held her head in a dancer's pose, which on anyone else would come across as almost arrogant. Her glittering eyes, shining of happiness and self content, however, kept her from appearing haughty and aristocratic; instead, a subtle gentility characterized her features.

As she continued down the path, humming and taking graceful leaps across puddles from the earlier inundation of rain, she noticed a group of teenagers standing off in the distance screaming out in fits of laughter – the pure, unquestionable epitome of mirth and good feeling. Watching them interact, Tea tried desperately to brush off thoughts of times in the past when she'd been like that with Joey, Tristan, and Yugi – and the more she thought of it, Serenity, Duke, and Mai.

Pushing a few strands of hair away from her face as the chilly and brisk wind picked up, Tea averted her eyes from the group of people as she passed them. It pained her too much to see them – it was too blunt of a visible reminder of what she was steadily losing in her life – her friends.

"_Hey guys!" Tea said nervously, her cheerful voice sounding forced and entirely unnatural. Standing before her friends upon her return to Domino for fall break, she felt a growing discomfort as she tried again to get them to say something, "What's going on? . . . How have you all been since I've been away?"_

"_Oh wouldn't ya like to know?" Joey retorted angrily._

"_What do you mean?" she asked tensely. She didn't know why she'd bothered to ask – she knew full well what he was referring to._

"_What do I mean? What do I mean? Ya know what I mean - you can't just come waltzing back home and expect things to be just peachy after what ya've done!"_

"_Look, I'm sorry! I can't change what I did. I didn't do it intentionally – I've been busy! Honestly!"_

"_You've been busy for three months? Ya've been too busy for THREE WHOLE MONTHS to pick up a phone for five minutes?" Joey sneered, laughing in disbelief. "Wow, Tea. Ya know, I never took you to be a liar, but then again – I guess we all make mistakes."_

"_Easy, Joey – just take it easy, okay?" Tristan interjected._

"_Thank you Tristan," Tea breathed a sigh of relief; she still had someone on her side._

_Turning to face her, Tristan shook his head and said impersonally, "Don't think for one second that I'm doing this for you, Tea. Don't think that I'm on your side. What you did was wrong. I hate what you did as much as Joey does, but I just don't see the use in getting worked up over it. What's done is done. There's nothing else that needs to be said."_

"_I don't know what to say," Tea reached out to put a hand on his arm, but he simply pulled back with a look that clearly said "No." Allowing her hand to fall limply to her side, she stood pale and shocked._

"_Say? You don't know what to say, Tea? How about an explanation, hmm?" Joey asked staring at her coldly._

"_I-I-"_

"_An honest explanation," he emphasized._

_Turning her gaze away from Joey and Tristan, she realized at that moment that she hadn't been honest with them, not in the least bit. She hadn't been too busy to call or write a letter at all – she'd lost her faith in her friends; after the first week of dance classes, Camille had slowly corrupted her with the idea that her friends weren't supportive, that in fact they were a hindrance in the path of her goal to be a dancer. And so, she had stopped calling. She had essentially abandoned them – cut them out of her life within a few months._

"_You're right. I wasn't honest," she said regretfully, her heart wrenching. "I failed being a good friend. I lost my faith in you all. I let my dreams get to my head and I was selfish," she intoned as her throat constricted. "You've got to believe me though," she begged with a burst of vitality, "I'm sorry! I love you guys. I do!"_

"_Yeah, well, little good that does ya. It doesn't take away what's happened these last three months!" Joey said, shaking his head. "Ya just don't get it. While ya were away in London doing your thing, ya didn't see what your "selfishness" did to us. Ya didn't see how Yugi was worried about something happening to ya. Ya didn't see him waiting for you to call. And do ya know what the sickest part was? While you were so busy dancing, when ya gave up on the gang – Yugi never once gave up on you."_

"_Please, just stop! I can't take it!"_

"_Well, get used to it because you're gonna listen, Tea," Joey declared. "Yugi never gave up on you! Never! So, this is how I see it, Ms. Hotshot - not only are ya a liar, but you're a hypocrite too."_

"_Hypocrite?" Tea cried out, baffled._

"_Yeah – hypocrite! Ya've always carried on about friendship being the most important thing and now ya've shown otherwise! Where are your friendship pep talks now?"_

"_STOP IT!!!" Everyone turned to look at Yugi who had been standing silently leaning against the kitchen counter in his house, his back facing the others. Now, turning around he cried out, "You heard me! Stop it! I don't want to hear this any more! I just don't want to!" Pushing his way out of the kitchen he ran out of the house to escape._

"_See what ya've done?" Joey hissed. "Look what ya've done to him! Look!"_

Flinching at the memory, she grimaced as she could still hear the anger in Joey's voice, and it killed her. But what hurt worse was the look she'd seen in Yugi's eyes the split second before he'd left her standing in the kitchen, alone with Tristan and Joey – betrayal.

_Dear god . . . what have I done? What have I done?_

Feeling a wave of emotion bear down on her, she broke into a sprint as she hurried to get back to Livingston. When she reached the tall building and had managed to get back into her bedroom with her bedroom door closed and locked behind her, Tea sank to the floor, tears rolling down her face.

For two hours she sat motionless, the words of despair "What have I done?" rolling unendingly through her head.

* * *

"Well, mom, it sure is great to be home," Tea said smiling as her mother poured her a cup of hot chocolate.

"And I'm glad that you are home. I've missed you, sweetie. How've you been? It feels like I haven't seen my baby in forever!" Mrs. Gardner replied her voice musical as she relished in the feeling of having her daughter home for winter break.

"Truthfully, mom," Tea began quietly, her voice losing it's contented undertone, "I'm not doing so good."

"What do you mean? Are you sick?" her mother asked her concernedly.

"No. No it's not that – it's me . . . and Yugi . . . and Joey . . . and Tristan." Sighing she gave her mother a tired smile, "I've screwed up big time, mom."

"Oh, come now, hon. It can't be so horrible."

"They hate me – all of them. And the worst part is that I can't blame them. And do you know what the next worst part is? Even though I know they hate me, and even though it hurts so much that I've hurt Yugi – I can't stop thinking about a guy I like. How sick am I? And to top it all off, the guy I like is Ya – umm, a close friend of Yugi's." Tea amended quickly.

"Darling, that's natural. These little 'riffs' in friendships happen, but you'll smooth things over!"

"_Diiiiiiing donnnnnnng,"_ the sound of the doorbell being rung reverberated throughout the Gardner house.

"And guess what, Tea? I think you just may get the chance to patch things up – right now!"

"What?" Tea asked, jolting up from the couch.

"I invited them to help decorate the house for Christmas – isn't it a great idea? It'll be like old times for you guys!"

"No, mom! This is a bad idea – a very, very bad idea!"

Raising her eyebrows, Mrs. Gardner gave Tea a look that clearly said, "We'll see," as she opened the door to let in the guys. Smiling broadly at them, she gestured them into the house and then offered to take their coats.

Standing up, Tea wiped her palms nervously against her jeans as she once again stood before her old friends. "Hey," she whispered – it was all she could manage.

Yugi smiled slightly as he greeted her with a "Hello," causing her face to brighten. Joey and Tristan, however, stood with eyes averted down toward their shuffling feet.

Seeing the awkwardness, Mrs. Gardner cleared her throat and announced that she had to go do some errands. Showing her self out, she crossed her fingers in hopes that the kids would work things out if they were given the opportunity to.

"You guys, please, let's not do this," Tea implored after her friends showed no willingness or effort to speak to her. "We're closer than this! I know we are! Don't you feel that way at all?" Tea's faced flushed in desperation as she realized that she was wrong when she had told herself that her friends being angry at her was the worst feeling. No, she had been wrong – what was worse was that right now two out of three of her best friends stood before her with an air of indifference to her existence. They were cutting her out of her lives right before her eyes.

"Yeah, come up guys," Yugi pleaded, "you all said you'd try to –"

"We said that we'd come support you, Yugi. We couldn't care less about her," Joey said flatly.

"But you're not supporting me! In order to support me you've got to cooperate - you're hurting me as much as she has!" Yugi exclaimed in frustration.

Wincing at Yugi's words regarding how she'd hurt him, Tea turned again to face Tristan and Joey, "I'm so sorry. Believe me! I know you can. Believe that I'm not lying! I am so sorry! I can't say it enough!"

"Ya hurt him, Tea. Ya hurt my best friend. I can't forgive that with a simple 'I'm sorry,'" Joey said, almost regretfully.

"But Yugi wants you to! Don't you, Yugi?"

"Of course!"

"See? So won't you two forgive me? Yes, I'll admit it the same way I admitted it last month – I made a mistake. I jeopardized our friendship; I ripped it apart with my selfishness, but you said it yourself Joey – everyone makes mistakes! Even me! I'm not perfect! But if you honestly think I'd be so stupid as to make that mistake again after the hell that I'm going through now then you're a fool."

Pausing Joey relented slightly, his voice taking on a less apathetic tone, "So answer this one question – if you wanted to fix our friendship so much, why didn't you try after you got back to London last month?"

"I was terrified! I was so terrified of this happening that I forced myself to believe that everything was okay between all of us. I'm sorry but I can't change what I did. I wish I could. I wish I didn't alienate you guys. I wish that you didn't have to go through times when you thought I didn't care, but I was so scared! I abandoned you guys! I know I did. But I don't ever want to do it again!"

A quiet settled down over the room as everyone remained absolutely motionless. Slowly Joey turned to look at Tea and then a smile spread across his face as he nodded his head once before breaking out into a smile. Grabbing her arm he gave her a hug and laughed out, "I thought the gang was gonna lose a member there for a couple months, but I'm glad to say I was wrong."

"Well, it's about time that this thing is worked out," Tristan said breathing a sigh of relief as Joey and Tea embraced.

"Yeah . . ." Tea whispered contentedly, a smile spreading across her face, as the stun of the changing tide gave way. Nevertheless, her eyes held a regretful look as she glanced over at Yugi who gave her a quick smile. Returning the gesture, Tea announced cheerfully that Joey and Tristan ought to go dig around in the closest for Christmas decorations while she and Yugi began working on baking cookies.

"Oh yeah, cookies – now that's what I'm talking about!" Joey exclaimed, punching the air with his fist.

"It's always about food with you, isn't it?" Tristan replied in exasperation.

"Yep – I think it's rather smart, I mean –," Joey began as he and Tristan walked down the hall in search of decorations.

Once they were safely out of hearing distance, Tea turned to Yugi and simply said, "I'm sorry, Yugi – for everything. I still can't believe I shut you guys out of my life like that. I was so stupid."

"No, Tea – not stupid. I think that you were just in over your head. But you've surfaced and are as good as new again. And don't feel too guilty, I mean, I can't count the number of times I've been selfish and put myself before you -,"

"The reason that you count the number is because you've been nothing but good to me," Tea replied ruefully.

"Oh, nonsense! What about that time when I . . . um, well . . ."

Laughing, Tea glanced over at the comical expression of confusion on Yugi's face, "See!"

"Still . . ." Yugi said sheepishly, "0-1 mistakes aren't that big of a difference."

_He's so caring and he's such a good friend. I can't believe I ever hurt him the way I did. I can't believe I hurt Joey and Tristan . . . and Yami. God, what does he think about me now? Probably that I'm a horrible, horrible person who doesn't deserve Yugi's friendship. I don't think he'll ever forgive me . . . oh shut up, Tea! Here you are just rebuilding your friendship with Yugi, your best friend, and all you can think about is Yami . . . and how you've hurt him. There I go again. Focus. Yugi._

* * *

"Ah shut up, Tristan!" Joey laughed out as Tristan protested.

"Here's an idea," Tea cut in, thrilled to be back on great terms with her friends, "why don't both of you shut up?"

"Nah," Joey replied after pretending to give her suggestion a proper amount of consideration.

"Well, if you guys won't take my advice, I'll just have to retire to another room!" Tea said jokingly. Still laughing she got up to brush the crumbs off her jeans. Noticing that the plate of cookies she'd baked was now empty, she excused herself to the kitchen to refill it.

Even after she'd made her way into the kitchen, the laughter followed her, causing a warm happiness to swell up in her. Life was getting better; her mom was right, as always. Suddenly in the mood for a little Christmas music, Tea reached over the counter and flicked on the radio, fumbling with the dial until she reached a station that was playing "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas." Humming along to the tune, she began to dance around in the kitchen as she arranged another batch of cookies onto a porcelain, hand-painted, plate of her grandmother's.

Tea came to a stop suddenly. She hadn't noticed before, but standing out on the backyard patio was Yami, who was leaning against the railing, shoulders hunched over, and appearing very deep in thought. Reluctant to disturb him, Tea started to back out of the kitchen, but realizing that this could be her only chance to talk to him alone, she made her way over to the sliding screen door and slipped noiselessly out onto the deck.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?" Tea asked after a moment's silence, when he didn't appear to take note of her presence.

Turning his head, Tea's blue gaze collided with his violet one, causing her stomach to lurch and her head to swim. _I've hurt him. I've hurt him and I don't know how to make it better._

"Yes, it is a beautiful evening."

"It's cold though," Tea remarked.

"Mmhmm," Yami agreed civilly in a tone of voice one would use on an acquaintance - there was no trace of a deeper friendship, which hurt Tea, but at the same time, he displayed no signs of anger, which she supposed could be either good or bad.

"Look! It's starting to snow," Tea exclaimed, momentarily forgetting the awkwardness between them.

"_Look Yami – the first snow of this winter - and on Christmas, at that. Isn't it beautiful?"_

Tea closed her eyes briefly at the memory, which had taken place almost exactly one year ago, as it flashed across her mind.

"It is," Yami replied, exactly as he had the previous Christmas, but this time, no hint of a deeper desire was held in his voice.

Tea turned away briefly, her hands clenching the railing of the deck. "I'm sorry," she burst out suddenly with a passion that surprised even her. "I've apologized and fixed things up with everyone except you, Yami . . . I need to tell you that I'm sorry. I know that I probably seem like a horrible person to you . . . hurting Yugi the way I did . . . I don't know what I was thinking . . . I'm so sorry!" Breathing heavily, with her chest heaving, Tea waited on edge for him to respond.

"You're sorry you hurt . . . Yugi?"

"Yes!"

"I see," Yami said abruptly.

"What? What did I say? I don't understand . . ."

"You're sorry you hurt Yugi, but you're not sorry for hurting me –" he stopped speaking almost immediately and clenched his hands as he quickly hid his emotions and again put up his impassive façade.

Almost slapping herself for her stupidity, Tea realized that she'd just added insult to injury by making it seem as if she only wanted to apologize for hurting Yugi. "Let me start over, please . . . we weren't such good friends last Christmas. We were acquaintances, at best. But I think our friendship grew and you became someone . . . someone very special to me. And then I went away and screwed up and now here we are. And I know I hurt you and everyone else by ignoring you all and so I'm sorry. I wish I could take it back but all I can do is attempt . . . attempt to make it up to you. I just don't know how I will yet."

Struggling to remain detached, he finally said between biting breaths of the night's chilly air, "It is better that we're like this."

"What? How can you say that? I –" Tea began, but her words dropped off as her gaze again met his and she saw an indescribable look pass across his handsome features. And at that moment she knew. "Yami . . ." she said, her mouth parting in shock at the steady look in his eyes that mirrored the one that he had given her last Christmas.

Feeling as if something was pulling her to him, Tea whispered again, this time as a question, "Yami . . . ?"

"Nothing can happen . . . between us," he said flatly, although his eyes betrayed him as he began to lean slightly, almost imperceptibly closer to her. "Nothing can happen . . ."

"Right . . ." Tea agreed as she too began to draw nearer, "nothing whatsoever."

Closing the gap between each other, Yami finally grasped her lips in a painfully sweet and gentle kiss as he simultaneously wrapped one arm around her back and slipped his other hand against her cheek, tilting her face up to his.

Tea, shocked at first into inaction, soon recovered and pressed her self closer to him by wrapping her arms around his neck, and she realized at once that she was falling harder and faster for him than could be safe.

Pulling away slightly, Yami looked down into her azure eyes.

_Let her go. You can't do this; it isn't right. It isn't fair to her . . . or Yugi. Stop this . . . now . . . before you end up causing her more hurt than you will. You will hurt her – it's inevitable._

While the thoughts tumbled through his mind, tearing him into two directions, he stared down into her eyes that were warmly encouraging him to continue his ministrations and he began to feel his resolve weaken. Bending down again, he kissed her once more, this time more deeply, as the snow began to fall more heavily and more clearly as the pure white fell against the blackened canvas of the night.


	4. Sometimes We've Got to Keep on Keepin' O...

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. Enough said**.

**(I'm sorry for the lack of writing these past few days, everyone. I've been extremely busy with school and the like, but I've finally found time to continue with the story. Be warned, that this chapter has a lot to do with Kaiba – but believe me, there's a reason for this. )**

"Mr. Kaiba, there's a phone call for you on line one," Kaiba's secretary said, speaking into the intercom that connected the anteroom of the Kaiba Corp. London division to the company's name bearer's office.

"I am busy, Marjorie. You know this – so follow the routine procedure and take a _message_!" Kaiba replied snidely, irritated far more than the normal person would be at such a distraction.

"Y-yes, Mr. Kaiba; of course I will take a message."

"Damn those useless secretaries," Kaiba muttered under his breath as his fingers resumed the rapid typing on the computer keyboard.

"Um – Mr. Kaiba," Marjorie said as her voice came back over the intercom, "the caller is quite adamant in wanting to speak to you. I-I tried to t-take a message but she kept demanding t-to speak to you. I –"

"Marjorie – do you value your employment here at Kaiba Corporations?" the 23 year old CEO asked in a voice alarmingly calm and collected.

"O-of course, Mr. Kaiba," Marjorie replied in growing terror of being discharged. "Kaiba Corporations is my life!"

"Then in the future, I suggest you do what you are paid to do – follow through on my orders! When I say take a message, I fully expect you to take a damn message, understood?" Kaiba demanded as his voice rose, corresponding to his increasing annoyance."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba; I understand fully."

"Fine," Kaiba said indifferently. Without missing a step, his tone changed and he barked out, "You may as well put whoever is on the line through now that my work has been disrupted."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba," Marjorie said flatly.

In his office, Kaiba switched on his speaker phone, arrogantly saying, "You have five minutes." He didn't bother worrying about offending the unknown person on the other end of the line because there was no possibility that the person could be worth much of his time – Kaiba had no superiors, no people he must ingratiate himself to, in his mind, at least.

"Kaiba, darling," a mellifluous voice purred at the other end of the line, "is that any way to speak to me?"

"Camille Dupree," he answered in response, his voice losing a bit of its edge at the familiar voice of the one woman who he could honestly say, albeit with difficulty, that he respected.

"Tsk, tsk," Camille said laughingly, "Really, Kaiba, where are your manners? Aren't you going to ask me how I am?"

"Very well – how are you Camille?" he replied cordially.

"Oh very well, Kaiba, especially since I've discovered from various sources that you've been in London for two weeks now and you have yet to trouble yourself by coming to visit me."

"You know I am busy with running my company."

"Yes, I know, I know, Mr. CEO. But nevertheless you ought to come up with a new excuse; that one has quite worn itself out, do you not agree?" Camille remarked lightly. "Shake it up a bit, would you? You know – shock someone!"

"No." Kaiba replied shortly. "Now, tell me, what is it that you want?"

"Can't a friend just call up another friend for a good old chit-chat?"

"No," although his words were brusque, no annoyance was present in his tenor.

Laughing aloud, Camille smirked as she relented, "All right. You've caught me – I want you ready tonight by 7:30 to go to dinner and the ballet with me. No complaints or excuses. You owe me for that unsightly display of such rude manners just a moment ago."

"Aha," Kaiba said, reclining in his leather desk chair, a cynical grin tugging at the corners of his lips, "so you've finally decided you would like a shot with me after all these years. Well, I apologize, Camille, but I fear I will have to refuse your invitation."

"Don't fool yourself, Kaiba. There's no way in hell that this is a date – it is simply a society function which requires I bring someone along. And I will also not miss attending this particular ballet – a former student of mine will be dancing tonight and I want to see her."

"And you can not take some other sap to sit through an incessantly dull performance?"

"I'll be frank with you, Kaiba, no one looks better in formal attire than you, so you're going, understood?"

Grinning, his voice taking on a pretend wounded tone, he pressed, "Am I to be your accessory – only there to complement how _you_ look in formal wear?"

"Absolutely." Camille retorted impishly, and then wickedly, "I also want you to meet her."

"What? Wait – who exactly are we discussing?" Kaiba asked, sitting up in his chair at what sounded suspiciously like a set up.

"Goodbye, darling – remember 7:30, tonight. Oh and be a dear and send a limo around to pick me up." With that, Camille hung up the phone, leaving Kaiba staring in amazement at the phone.

* * *

"Ten minutes until the shows starts," a stage hand said as he poked his head into her dressing room.

"All right," Tea replied dispassionately as she sat reclined in a chair while a make-up artist hurried to complete her elaborate make-up and a hairstylist continued to pull and twist her auburn locks into an ornate creation.

Focusing on her breathing, Tea leaned her head back in weariness. Six days a week. Five shows a day, each approximately three hours in length. It seemed as if she could never manage to catch her breath; it seemed like she never had a day off to just sit down and unwind. Even her one off day during the week was spent hectically for she was required, due to her elevated social status, to make regular appearances at various functions hosted by some affluent hotshot or another. Simply put, she was exhausted; her body felt like deadweight, and it was a pain to move. She still couldn't fathom how she managed to continue dancing according to this rigorous schedule, but she did. By some miracle, she did - and had been doing so for the two years that had passed since her graduation from Livingston at age eighteen.

* * *

"Hello?" the twenty year old college student said, answering his cell phone and then tucking it between his ear and shoulder, continued to work on packing up his belongings in his dorm at the Domino City University campus in order to go live back home for the summer months.

"Hey, Yugi; it's me."

"Tea! How's it going?" Yugi asked enthusiastically, immediately ceasing his packing and devoting his full attention to his friend.

"Oh you know, nothing much except dancing," Tea replied smiling at her old friend's cheerful voice. "I've got another performance to give in approximately five minutes, so I can't talk very long, obviously . . ." Tea trailed off, as if expecting Yugi to cut in and say something.

"In that case – you should be preparing," he chided gently, "you know, mentally or something."

Tea smiled faintly as she sat in front of her vanity table in her London dressing room, "But you see, Yugi, this _is_ how I am preparing – you know, mentally," she said, forcing herself to sound teasing.

"Funny, Tea; I find it so very funny when you poke fun at my inability to speak eloquently," Yugi replied wryly, unaware of the strain in his friend's voice.

"Oh don't be such a downer; it's great fun to tease you! For one of use at least," she retorted amusedly, feeling her spirits lift the more she heard his voice – so familiar and reassuring.

Starting to stand up to do a few quick stretches before going out on stage, Tea's breath caught in her throat when she discovered how difficult a task it was for her muscles this particular evening. Easing herself back into her chair, Tea stared unwaveringly at her pale reflection in the vanity, the illuminated mirror making her appear all the more ghostly.

_You may dance some night on stage and you will be in pain . . . you will not stop. You will dance through the pain . . ._

Closing her eyes at the memory of Camille's words to her so long ago, Tea felt immensely saddened. Those four years ago she had been so full of hope and idealism – so convinced that if she could just dance and never stop that she would be fulfilled and complete. And yet, now here she was, dancing and never stopping at twenty years of age, and all she could wish was to go back to the old days of high school where she kept her hair short and her friends close and everyone took her for the innocent wishy-washy type of person.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Tea said apologetically, "Well, I should probably go now . . . wish me luck, okay?"

"Oh Tea, you don't need luck!" Yugi exclaimed dismayed by what suddenly sounded to him, her very dejected tone of voice.

"Tonight I will," she replied blandly, no longer attempting to put up a mirthful front.

"Tea . . ." Yugi questioned, his voice quivering slightly, for although he had just finished his sophomore year of college, he was still very much the same as he always had been in high school – weaker than most other guys, physically, at least, and characterized with what some might declare a trace of femininity. Still, this quality made him all the more sympathetic and endearing - and it caused Tea's heart to feel as if it were breaking when he hesitatingly asked, "I-is something wrong?"

"Tea! We need you!" Yugi heard someone call in the background.

Sighing, Tea reluctantly said, "I've got to go, Yugi. The ballet's about to begin, but don't worry about me. I'm fine – just a little tired. But, really, I'll be fine. Honestly, I will."

"O-okay," Yugi said, his voice holding a note of disbelief, but knowing full well that there was little he could do for her with her in London and he in Japan, he simply said, "Break a leg – I'll be thinking about you, okay?"

"Thanks, Yugi. I'm going now, okay?"

"All right – goodbye, Tea."

"Bye."

Turning away from the mirror, Tea wished with all her heart that she could see Yugi face to face and tell him everything she felt, her loathing of her lifestyle, her fears that all this time she'd made a mistake and her weariness . . . everything. But really, there was no sense in worrying him over a little stress and fatigue. She'd come out on top one of these days . . .

"Tea! Come on – you're needed. _Now!_" The stagehand called to her again and Tea, carefully concealing her emotions stood up, wincing at the effort it took. Then gritting her teeth, she forced herself to move towards the stage for her last performance of the evening.

* * *

"Remind me again how you wheedled me into this," Kaiba demanded as Camille tossed him a flippant smile.

"I didn't have to wheedle anyone," she said merrily as she took her seat in a luxury box at the theater. "You just couldn't resist being near me, Kaiba darling. Even after all these years you still hold an undying interest in me, don't you?"

"Never," Kaiba said in blatant derision.

"Oh, hush," she exclaimed, laying an ivory gloved hand on his black tuxedo sleeve, "I was only toying with you! There's no need to be annoyed. Where is your sense of humor anyway?"

"Don't you remember, Camille? I never had one," he returned ominously, his relaxed enjoyment of her vanishing instantly.

Hearing this, Camille flashed her gaze up to his and was met with narrowed eyes and a contrasting broad smile, displayed to conceal his tone to the influential members of London society seated around them. Immediately tightening her grip on his arm, she hissed up at him, "Oh don't you dare go off here! I will say it again – there is no need whatsoever to get worked up. Let it go, Kaiba. I'm dead serious."

"Let's just get this over with Camille, understand? I am discovering that your company is incessantly unbearable but still, my good manners prevent me from walking out of this performance and embarrassing you in front of everyone present," Kaiba drawled, his manner completely different than the one he had displayed over the phone.

Beginning to open her mouth to give a scathing retort, she instead averted her face as the theater darkened and the curtain rose to display the opening scene of the ballet.

Looking discreetly at Camille's profile, Kaiba felt disgusted. His knowledge that he had let her get to him again after he'd promised that he was through with her was sickening, a sure blow to his pride. He should have known better than to talk to her on the phone that morning. He should have hung up on her immediately. He should have, but he hadn't – and now he was sitting in a theater watching a stupid ballet and hating himself. Damn her.

He was watching her; Camille knew this without having to take her eyes off the stage for a second. She could feel his eyes penetrating her skin and she could sense his revulsion for, not so much her, but for what she represented to him – loss, defeat . . . failure.

He had pursued her three years ago, Camille remembered, her thoughts wandering from the ballet before her. Kaiba had been twenty and she had been twenty-two – older and wiser than she looked. She had first met him after giving the ballet performance of a lifetime where she had been stunningly beautiful and talented beyond words. Kaiba had been in the audience, watching her dance and he had been captivated by the opportunity placed before him. He had wanted her so that he could display to the world the extent of his control; he had wanted her not because he loved her but because she made for an outstanding trophy. She, in reality, was another one of his business conquests. If she were his to parade around to social functions, he would reap the benefits. His company would look better because the relationship between arguably the most powerful CEO and the world's top ballet dancer would generate publicity, putting Kaiba and Kaiba Corporations in the limelight. Pure and simple as that, she was part of his strategy to strengthen himself.

Kaiba had mistaken his realm of control, however. He had assumed that his power and money gave him the ability to do as he pleased, even in regards to other humans. He believed he controlled them to, and thus, the night of her performance he had marched into her dressing room, unannounced and unapologetic. He had stood before her, coldly demanding that she begin a relationship with him. And she, stunned, had laughed and laughed at the outrageous proposal, which she took for some prank concocted by her fellow cast members. But upon seeing his deadly serious face, she had jeered at him and mocked and ridiculed him and he had continued to remain unwaveringly before her until she ceased. Then, he had turned and walked toward the door, but pausing for a moment had said, "You'll come around, you will see. And when you do, you'll come crawling."

She hadn't gone to him, though, which, although Kaiba wouldn't dare to admit it, was one of the more embarrassing things that had happened throughout the span of his life.

Somehow, though, she and Kaiba had become something along the lines of friends. One night a couple weeks after the occurrence in her dressing room, she had run into him in a deserted coffee shop that she frequented to get away from everyone. Upon seeing him, she had believed he was stalking her, but then she had seen his shock at seeing her and she knew that it was entirely accidental. Torn between leaving, staying and ignoring him, or staying and approaching him, Camille had chosen the latter path for some reason unbeknownst to her. She had walked up to his table and had sat down, as if it were the most normal thing to do.

"_What do you want?" he demanded._

"_You needn't be so pompous – I'm here to talk."_

"_Negotiate, you mean? Well, I'm sorry, but my former offer has been retracted."_

"_I don't want to negotiate your deal, you conceited ass!"  
_

"_Then why are you here," Kaiba asked evenly, "surely you don't feel I owe you an apology?"_

"_I'm here to tell you that you have some serious issues!"_

_Scowling, Kaiba slid out of the booth, but was stopped by Camille's hand gripping his arm. "Let go of me," he bit out angrily._

"_Sit down," Camille commanded while pushing him back down into his seat, her actions similar to one of a mother disciplining her child. "Now listen to me – I don't care if you're some rich person who thinks the world trembles at his feet – you do not treat people like objects! I may just be a dancer to you, and maybe that seems like a pointless occupation to you, but that does not mean that you can treat me like you did. I'm not yours to be bought, understand?"_

Staring emotionlessly at the stage, Camille recalled how she had won his respect with her speech, although he had simply nodded brusquely and left the shop without another word. Still, it was then that they'd become tentative friends – he had respected her for standing up to him, something that was incredibly rare, if it had ever occurred at all. In addition to that, some unspoken agreement seemed to have had passed between them that they would remain allied, so as long as not another word was mentioned about how they had come to meet each other, and now, as Kaiba sat beside her, angry, Camille realized that even after all these years, Kaiba hated any mention of their relationship and that she had in fact broken their contract and perhaps their friendship.

Feeling ill at ease, Camille did her best to brush this revelation aside and focus on the ballet, which was made easier by the appearance of her former student on the elaborately decorated stage.

* * *

The music from the live orchestra poured through her veins, empowering her limbs and reminding her again of how she could continue to dance even when she felt it was impossible to move. She felt like she was flying – or as close to flying as she could ever get. Everything – the music, her costume, the stage, the audience – combined to have a rather drugging effect.

Soaring, her legs strong and graceful at the same time, Tea followed without thought the choreography of the ballet, feeling her self embody the character she was playing. She was reaching the end of the play, she knew. It was this time that was her favorite part of the performance; everything had built up to this climax - this sequence of leaps of twirls and movements so charged with emotion that they brought the audience to its feet.

Her arms thrusting, her torso bending dramatically, Tea danced and danced and she continued as she heard the audience roar with applause – that applause that burned a fire in her and caused her to dance harder and more emphatically – to give those people more of what they wanted.

As she gave her last leap and struck a pose with her arms splayed upwards, heaven-bound, and her legs pointed, her whole body tense, Tea again heard the audience – the clapping, the whistles. Waiting for the curtain to be lowered, she felt herself grow weak, her body began to shake, and her heart felt as though it were pounding so heavily that it would explode or burst through her chest. It was a sensation unlike anything she had ever felt before when dancing – and it wasn't a welcome one.

The roar of the crowd was becoming more distant, more unrecognizable. Lifting her eyes to them, Tea realized that her vision, like her hearing, had blurred and she felt a wave of trepidation overtake her. Still, as she felt sweat break out against her temples, she did not drop her pose, and she waited and waited, wishing that the curtain would hurry and fall. But it did not and she felt as if an eternity had passed her by. Her throat was dry and parched and she felt like she had spent weeks in a desert without water or hope for reprieve, and yet, in reality, she had only been waiting a few seconds for the curtain to drop.

She was waiting, and waiting in unbearable pain. When she had been dancing she had been able to ignore her weariness – had been able to push past it, but now – now! Oh, now when she was waiting motionless, she was all too aware of her body, of how her fingers quivered as she held them in place. She became too sensitive to how much strength it was taking to remain posed as she was.

_Would they never stop applauding? Will the curtain never drop? _

And yet, no reprieve came. The cheering continued. The curtain remained opened. All remained exactly it was – except Tea.

It was too much. She was too tired. She couldn't hold onto the thread of strength she had left in her body. It had slipped away and so was she.

Before the crowd, who had no idea whatsoever of what she was feeling, Tea collapsed to the stage floor and laid motionless, slipping away into a state of half-consciousness where she heard the applause give way to gasps and screams.

But finally, peace came and she heard no more.


	5. Is it a Full Circle?

**Authors Note: I do not own any portion of Yugioh. **

**(So, it's been quite a long time since I last updated, but once again, the reason for that was school and life just being plain busy. I hope that now that summer is drawing closer, I'll have more time to write. Anyhow, this chapter is kind of short, and is a transition to get me back into this story . . . but enjoy, nevertheless!)**

"You gave us a scare, Tea," Camille said, gently patting her friend's hand that appeared unusually thin, pale, and fragile against the stark white sheets of the hospital bed.

"I know. I'm sorry . . . I don't know what happened. Forgive me?"

Furrowing her brow at Tea's flippant attitude, Camille wasn't quite sure how to respond with anything besides a humorous, "Hey, there's no need to apologize – you did nothing wrong – well, except working too hard."

"Too hard? Did you actually just utter those words?" Tea asked incredulously. "This coming from the queen of "work, work, and then do harder work"?"

"Now don't be so surprised," Camille said, a smile tugging at her lips in spite of her concern.

Tilting her head with a mischievous smile on her face, Tea taunted, unaware of her friend's worry, "I believe I shall blame you for my tendencies of overworking myself!"

Camille's face immediately darkened and took on a more serious expression. She loved Tea dearly and the thought that she may have influenced Tea to value fifteen hour days of dancing over her health was tormenting. Firmly grasping Tea's hand, Camille looked directly into the girl's eyes and quietly said, "I value hard work, yes. But I value life more. Now, I have something I need to tell you and you're not going to like it, but I feel it's an absolute necessity that I tell you this. You may or may not take my advice, and that is your decision, but I need to make sure you know all your choices before you continue going down the path you're on now."

"Umm . . . okay . . ." Tea replied. "Shoot."

"I think you need to take some time off."

Immediately Tea's face transformed from one of amusement to one of restrained anger. "Time off? From what?"

"You know what I'm talking about Tea!"

"Dance?"

"Yes."

"No. Absolutely not. That's an insane suggestion. I won't hear of it."

"Tea – be reasonable. You collapsed on stage! You're in no way fit to continue dancing the way you have been!"

"How should you know?" Tea angrily retorted. "You aren't me! You don't know what I feel. You're just some washed up has-been dancer!" The second the words passed her lips, Tea closed her eyes and bit her and took a deep breath to collect her self. Opening her eyes to Camille's hurt expression, Tea quietly apologized. "I didn't mean it, Camille. I'm sorry. I was angry. I wasn't thinking. You know you're a wonderful dancer."

"Don't apologize, Tea. You're right. I'm not the same dancer I was five years ago. I don't have the fame now that I had five years ago. I'm a prominent member of society, yes – but I'm no longer the prima ballerina. You are. And that's why I'm concerned, can't you see that?"

"You're my friend – I know you're going to be concerned. But you have to trust me, I'm okay. I'm smart. I can make my own decisions. And my decision is to continue dancing as I have been dancing for the past two years."

"I see." Camille said, nodding her head slowly while trying to find a way to convince Tea to take a break. "Well, I suppose you have had your say – but I still haven't had mine. Now, I'm going to speak my mind and you're going to listen without interruption until I'm done."

Reluctantly Tea sighed and nodded her head as a signal for Camille to proceed.

"I'm going to be blunt. I want you to take a year off from dance –"

"What? Now you've just plain lost your mind, Camille –"

"Uh, uh, uh – not a word, Tea. I want you to take off a year so that you can get the perspective to see what you've done to yourself. I think you need to reevaluate the things in your life. I know you love dance, but I'm concerned that lately you've just been using it to cover up other things that aren't perfect in your life. And that's not healthy."

"Camille – no. I love dance because it's who I am. It defines me. I'm fine. My life is perfect. That's it."

Cocking her head, Camille asked suddenly, "When's the last time you saw your friends from Domino?"

"What?"

"When?"

"I don't know – it's been a while since I've _seen_ them. But I talk to them frequently."

"Is your friendship the same?"

"Same as what? Same as when I was sixteen? Of course not. I'm busy. They're busy. We talk when we all have time. It's different, but it works for us now."

"How do you feel about that? Does it make you sad? Angry? And don't try to tell me you're fine – you haven't been fine for a while now."

"What is this, some damn inquisition? I'm telling you I'm fine! I'm fine, okay!" Furiously, Tea brushed back the tears that had welled up in her eyes at the thought of her old friends – of how she never saw them, and how it was because she was always dancing and dancing and dancing. Dancing – it had been her love for the longest time, and she still loved it, but not in the same way. In the past dance had been her escape into her self. Dance had been a way of becoming more in tune with every aspect of her being, but now dance had become a superficial attempt to hide from her problems and mistakes. And she was suffering from it. Immensely. And it was because of this that she finally squeezed her eyes closed in a whirlwind of torment with her self, and it was because of this that she reluctantly nodded her head and clasped Camille's hand as she said, "Okay. I'll go away. I'll stop dancing professionally for a while."

"Say it. Say, "I'll stop dancing for a year." Camille insisted, gripping Tea's hand harder. "It's the only way to fix things. You know it is."

"I'll stop dancing for a year." Tea said quietly, her body immediately tiring as she gave in to her emotions that had kept her tense and defiant. Smiling faintly, Tea raised her eyebrows and asked the question to which she already knew the answer: "Where do I go to take this break?"

"Home, Tea. You go home."

"Now I have to make travel plans and pack and do a million other things. It never ends does it?"

"Don't worry, Tea," Camille said smiling at what she saw as the first step to getting her friend back in control of her life, "I have everything all planned out. You won't need to do a thing. And come the day after tomorrow when you're released from the hospital, you'll be jetting off to head back home on a plane with someone who you apparently know . . ."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Just wait and see," Camille replied playfully as she rose, gathering up her purse and jacket, to leave the hospital room. "I've got to get home now – but you'll find out about it all soon enough. Sweet dreams, Tea dear."

"All right . . ." Tea replied, clearly confused.

Turning to face the window, Tea stared out at the unusually bright and orb-shaped white-gold moon that glowed beautifully in the night sky. Once again, she was back to the beginning. And once again, she couldn't help but feel that she was somehow screwing up her life.

Determinedly, Tea turned her back to the moon and shook her head clear of thoughts. She was going to be fine. It was just a matter of time.


End file.
